The Cricketer picks the team of the season from LV= Insurance County Championship Division One
Keaton Jennings (Lancashire)
(11 matches, 794 runs, batting average 52.93, one century, five fifties)
In a tough season for openers up and down the country, Jennings led the way. Despite a hamstring tear limiting his activity during May, it was not before reeling off his 26th first-class century against Somerset. The England opener enjoyed a fine start to the campaign, hitting 76 against champions Surrey and 96 in tough conditions against runners-up Essex. Average in the 50s was the third-highest of any run-scorer to complete more than eight innings.
Sam Robson (Middlesex)
(14 matches, 856 runs, batting average 37.21, three centuries, two fifties)
Despite Middlesex spending much of the campaign at the wrong end of Division One, culminating in their relegation during the final week, Robson did provide some positive moments at the top of the order. The Sydney native reached three figures on three occasions including twice in September in the concluding rounds against Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire. His unbeaten 126 against Northamptonshire came amid the failure to chase down 323 at Merchant Taylors' School.
Tom Westley (Essex)
(14 matches, 1,130 runs, batting average 45.20, three centuries, four fifties)
The Essex captain finished as the second-highest scorer in Division One, registering seven landmark scores punctuated by hundreds against Kent at Canterbury, Lancashire at Blackpool and Warwickshire at Chelmsford. Westley was unerringly consistent, adding six other scores in the 40s and being one of three batters to face more than 2,000 deliveries (Hampshire's Nick Gubbins and James Rew of Somerset being the others) in Division One.
It was ultimately a season of disappointment for Sam Robson at relegated Middlesex (Ben Hoskins/Getty Images for Surrey CCC)
Josh Bohannon (Lancashire)
(14 matches, 1,257 runs, batting average 59.85, four centuries, five fifties)
The leading run-scorer in the top flight and second-highest in the County Championship (only below Alex Lees at Durham). Bohannon reeled off four hundreds for Lancashire, hitting 175 at the start of September against Northamptonshire - the 10th-highest individual score in the division - before signing off the season with 113 and an unbeaten 68 against Kent.
Joe Clarke (Nottinghamshire)
(14 matches, 1,053 runs, batting average 50.14, two centuries, seven fifties, 15 dismissals)
One of five players to reach four figures for runs during 2023 (and his best first-class season since 2016) courtesy of his 70 against Middlesex at Trent Bridge. Clarke served up two hundreds, led by the second-highest individual score of the campaign, a career-best 229 not out as Warwickshire were put to the sword to secure Notts a battling draw in mid-June. His other century came in the stalemate with Kent, having scored 62 in the first innings.
James Rew (Somerset)
(14 matches, 1,086 runs, batting average 57.16, four fifties, five centuries, two fifties, 42 dismissals)
The runs might have dried up during September but it doesn't detract from a golden summer for the 19-year-old who emerged as one of the best young talents in English cricket in 2023. Among five hundreds was a brilliant double against Hampshire, becoming the youngest Somerset batter to achieve the feat in first-class cricket. That knock took him to six Championship hundreds, the joint-most for a teenager.
Liam Dawson enjoyed a sparkling end to the season (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Liam Dawson (Hampshire)
(14 matches, 840 runs, batting average 40, three centuries, four fifties, 49 wickets, bowling average 20, four five-fors)
Hampshire's wait for red-ball silverware continues but it was a standout season for the England spinner, who must now be a strong contender to go to India early next year. Dawson collected five-fors in May, two in June and then September before adding two of his three hundreds during the season's final month in wins over Somerset and Essex.
Jordan Clark (Surrey)
(14 matches, 427 runs, batting average 26.68, one century, two fifties, 48 wickets, bowling average 21.35, one five-for)
Surrey's title-winning campaign saw stand-out performances spread across the group but Clark was almost always at the fore. He was a key figure down the order, hitting a key century to salvage a perilous situation against Notts, while his 48 wickets completed his best season in first-class cricket. Took four or more wickets on four occasions, led by a five-for against Kent on a batter-friendly surface at Canterbury in June.
Oliver Hannon-Dalby (Warwickshire)
(13 matches, 54 wickets, bowling average 19.07, two five-fors)
Brought up half a century of wickets for the second consecutive campaign, going one better than 2022. Took a career-best 7 for 46 to lay the platform for victory over Northants (teammate Chris Rushworth was the only seamer to return better figures) and added another first-innings five-for in victory over Middlesex at Lord's the following week.
Jamie Porter celebrates the dismissal of Karun Nair (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Jamie Porter (Essex)
(14 matches, 57 wickets, bowling average 19.05, four five-fors)
Essex's leading seamer in the Championship, outperforming new-ball partner Sam Cook throughout to lead the club's title challenge. Right from the moment Porter was tearing through Middlesex in week one, Porter looked back to his best. Six-wicket hauls against the Lord's county bookended the campaign, on either side of a third career 10-for against Hampshire.
Brett Hutton (Nottinghamshire)
(13 matches, 62 wickets, bowling average 21.40, six five-fors)
The leading wicket-taker in the country, taking more wickets in 2023 than across the last three campaigns combined. As Nottinghamshire prepare to welcome a new batch of quicks, Hutton couldn't have done more to ensure he remains part of the conversation. A consistent performer, his six five-fors came in six different matches but twice against Somerset at Trent Bridge and Taunton.
Honourable mentions: Ryan Higgins, James Vince, Matt Critchley, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Simon Harmer, Mohammad Abbas, Chris Rushworth, Sam Cook, Ben Foakes
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